Lunch at Monte Mar restaurant began with fresh clams cooked in garlic, coriander and white wine. Its amazing how something so small can pack so much flavour!
Our main course was hake fillet with cockle rice. The fish skin was too soggy, but the flesh itself was moist and flaky.
The fruit salad provided a cool and refreshing end to the meal.
Altis Belem Hotel & Spa
Last night’s dinner took place at Cafetaria Mensagem at the Altis Belem Hotel & Spa. We’re told that the waterside restaurant is popular with both locals and tourists.
Our first course was an octopus salad with sweet potato and Salicornia. Octopus is a tricky protein to cook right – overcooking it (even a bit) leads to rubbery results. The chefs nailed this one perfectly – the flesh was tender!
The main course was grouper with razor clams and peas that were specially sourced from Quinta do Poial, a farm well-known for its organic produce.
As expected, the fish’s texture was soft and flaky, and the razor clams were quite flavourful, too. We’re not sure if it was the combination of flavours or organic farming methods (or both), but we’ve never tasted peas this sweet before!
This dessert was listed in the menu as “Eucalyptus, rice and pine nuts”. Honestly, it did not sound appetising at first.
As it turned out, the rice was actually chocolate flavoured and mixed with the pine nuts, while the pudding-like yellow mound had a punchy buttery flavour. We’re not quite sure what the white blob (top left) was, but it was creamy and had eucalyptus syrup drizzled over it. Talk about ending on a sweet note!
